The BBC has published an interactive postcode lookup that maps how hot and dry summer 2026 was across the UK, letting users enter a postcode to see local temperature and rainfall data. The UK recorded its hottest summer on record, with the maximum daily temperature averaging 21.3C, 2.4C above the 1991 to 2020 summer average. Rainfall averaged 195mm nationwide, 23% below the 1991 to 2020 summer average, and droughts were declared across much of England and Wales while only north-western Scotland saw more rain than usual. The lookup uses the Met Office Hadley Centre HadUK Grid dataset, which provides estimates on a 1km by 1km grid and reports values as averages across nearby grid cells, typically representing a roughly 5km square. The BBC notes the 2026 data are provisional because of lags in observations, and the tool requires a modern browser with JavaScript to view the interactive. Methodology support for the project came from Dan Hollis, Amy Doherty and Oli Claydon at the UK Met Office Hadley Centre.
